This invention relates generally to a liquid dispenser device for an automatic clothes washing machine and more particularly to such a device designed to be mounted on the clothes agitator thereof and automatically dispense liquids, such as, for example, rinse agents, during the operation of the machine.
Automatic dispenser devices for use in dispensing liquid rinse agents and the like into the wash basket of an automatic clothes washing machine during the operation of the machine, are well known in the art. One such dispenser device, described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,868,006, is of the type which is designed to be mounted on the agitator of the clothes washing machine. Liquid rinse agent is placed into a first, inner compartment or chamber of the dispenser device upon initiation of the washing operation. During the wash cycle, while the agitator oscillates, the liquid agent remains in the inner compartment. Thereafter, during the spin cycle, the liquid agent is acted upon by centrifugal force created by the rotation of the dispenser on the agitator, moving the liquid agent into an outer chamber of the device. Exit openings communicating with the outer compartment permit the liquid rinse agent to be dispensed into the rinse water.
While the principle of operation of the liquid dispenser is sound, being of one piece construction, cleaning the device subsequent to use can be difficult. To overcome this disadvantage, a device of the type described has been fabricated in two or more separable parts. Examples of such dispenser devices are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,620,054 and 4,118,957.
The dispensers illustrated in the last-mentioned prior art patents include inner and outer annular members, both of which are mounted on the agitator of the clothes washing machine and joined together by a friction fit. In one case, the dispenser device comprises inner and outer annular members having mating male and female threaded portions at the axes of rotation thereof for joining the two members. Because of this method of joining the inner and outer members, this dispenser, it appears, must be manufactured with precision to avoid imbalance and wobble when the device is spun on the agitator.
While the two piece dispenser devices of the above mentioned patents function satisfactorily for the most part to permit cleaning thereof subsequent to the use of the device, because of the construction of these devices, there is a good possibility that after prolonged use, excessive fatiguing of the members may occur, rendering the device ineffective. Furthermore, liquid rinse agent must be poured over a portion of the support structure of the outer annular member of the device. This can cause a splashing of the rinse agent away from the device and a premature entry of the rinse agent into the washing machine clothes basket. Also, special sealing along the perimeters of the inner and outer annular members of these devices is essential to insure that no leakage of liquid agent occurs from the device.